Midwest hit by its first major snowstorm of season

DES MOINES, Iowa
(AP) -- The first major snowstorm of the season began a slow crawl
across the Midwest on Thursday, creating treacherous, sometimes deadly
driving conditions and threatening to disrupt some of the nation's
busiest airports before the holiday weekend.

Heavy
snow and strong winds combined for blizzard conditions in areas from
Kansas to Wisconsin - and guaranteed a white Christmas in some places -
after the storm blanketed the Rocky Mountains earlier in the week.

Iowa and Nebraska took a heavy hit from the storm, with nearly a foot of snow in Des Moines and 8.6 inches in Omaha, Neb.

Thomas
Shubert, a clerk at a store in Gretna near Omaha, said his brother
drove him to work in his 4-by-4 truck but that some of his neighbors
weren't so fortunate.

"I saw some people in my
neighborhood trying to get out. They made it a few feet, and that was
about it," Shubert said. "I haven't seen many cars on the road. There
are a few brave souls out, but mostly trucks and plows."

The
heavy, wet snow made some unplowed streets in Des Moines nearly
impossible to navigate in anything other than a four-wheel drive
vehicle. Even streets that had been plowed remained snow-packed and
slippery. Jackknifed semitrailers were reported on sections of
Interstates 80 and 35 east and north of the city, with portions of the
roads closed until the accidents could be cleared.

While
the snow had tapered off by sunrise in Des Moines, transportation
officials warned drivers to stay off highways until midnight. Strong
winds were creating whiteout conditions. The airport at Creston, Iowa,
recorded the highest winds, with a gust of 53 mph, said Kevin Skow, a
National Weather Service meteorologist in the city.

Strong
wind contributed to tens of thousands of power outages in Arkansas,
Iowa and Nebraska. While snow pulled down most lines in Iowa, others
were felled by big gusts, said Justin Foss, a spokesman for Alliant
Energy, which had 13,000 customers without power in central Iowa.

"The
roads have been so bad our crews have not been able to respond to
them," said Justin Foss, a spokesman for Alliant Energy, which had
13,000 customers without power in central Iowa. "We have giant
four-wheel-drive trucks with chains on them so when we can't get there
it's pretty rough."

Along with Alliant,
MidAmerican Energy reported power out to more than 36,000 customers in
Iowa, most in the Des Moines area. The Omaha Public Power District said
more than 36,000 customers in eastern Nebraska lost power. Entergy
Arkansas reported more than 41,000 customers without power, most as a
result of thunderstorms and strong wind.

Meteorologist Scott Dergan said the snow cover would drag temperatures much lower in Nebraska and Iowa.

"We're
talking single digits," Dergan said. "We may even see some sub-zero
temperatures in Nebraska. This cold weather will stick around for
several days, maybe until the day after Christmas. So we're definitely
going to have a white Christmas."

Before the storm, several cities in the Midwest had broken records for the number of consecutive days without measurable snow.

Chicago
commuters began Thursday with heavy fog and cold, driving rain, and
forecasters said snow would hit the Midwestern metropolis by
mid-afternoon. Officials at O'Hare International Airport reported some
flight delays and more than 90 cancellations. United Airlines said it
would waive change fees for travelers who have to change their plans for
travel through O'Hare because of the storm.

The
weather service warned of poor visibility due to driving snow in much
of the region and told drivers to stay off roads in some areas.
Transportation officials shut down parts of Interstate 29 in Missouri
and Interstate 80 in Nebraska remained closed due to blowing snow.

In
southeastern Wisconsin, where a blizzard warning was in effect and
winds of up to 45 mph were expected to create whiteout conditions,
sheriff's officials said slick conditions led to at least two fatalities
late Wednesday when a driver lost control of his car in Rock County,
about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. In southeastern Utah, a woman who
tried to walk for help after her car became stuck in snow died Tuesday
night. Search and rescue crews on snowmobiles found her buried in the
snow just a few miles from her car.

The owner
of the Norske Nook restaurant and bakery in Osseo, a town in
west-central Wisconsin that woke up to at least 10 inches of snow, said
"blizzardy" conditions were not unusual for the area and that the
weather would not upset her business.

"It's
our policy to stay open for the customers," said Jean Zingshiem. "In
case someone is stranded they'll have somewhere to go."

Bill
Riggins of Madison said he wouldn't let a little blizzard stop him from
riding his bike into work on the University of Wisconsin campus, about
five miles from his house. Riggins said his metal-studded snow tires did
the trick for the early morning commute at 4:45 a.m.

"I
honestly think it would have been more trouble to drive," Riggins said.
The ride, which normally takes about 25 minutes, took 40 in the snow.
As conditions worsen during the day, Riggins said he expected the ride
home to take about an hour.

On the southern
edge of the storm system, high winds damaged homes and downed trees in
central Arkansas, the weather service said. A powerful storm peeled the
roofs off buildings and toppled trucks in Mobile, Ala., but injured no
one. Tornado warnings remained in effect in parts of Mississippi,
Louisiana and Alabama early Thursday.

Hundreds
of schools across the Midwest canceled classes Thursday because of
heavy overnight snow. Government offices in Iowa and Nebraska were
closed.

The moisture was welcome to farmers in
the drought-parched region, but Meteorologist Kris Sanders said the
storm wouldn't make much of a dent. In Kansas, for example, some areas
are more than 12 inches below normal precipitation for the year.

"It's
not going to have a big effect, maybe only a half-inch of liquid
precipitation. It's not helping us out much," Sanders said.

Sanders said another storm similar to the current one could bring additional snow on Christmas or the day after.

Blake
Landau, a cook serving eggs, roast beef sandwiches and chili to hungry
snow plow drivers at Newton's Paradise Cafe in downtown Waterloo, Iowa,
said he has always liked it when it snows on his birthday. He turned 27
on Thursday.

"It's kind of one of those things
where it's leading up to Christmas time," Landau said. "We don't know
when we get our first snowfall, and I hope we get it by my birthday.
It's nice to have a nice snowy Christmas."

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